A Son for a Son Chapter one
by ChristyK
Summary: Tony is kidnapped to get revenge on Gibbs
1. Default Chapter

This is my first NCIS fic so please be kind if anyone reads and reviews it. These chapters will be fairly short but I will continue to update regularly if I know enough people are interested in it.

**A Son for a Son**

**Chapter one**

The man watched as Gibbs, DiNozzo, and Kate left the NCIS building and headed off on a case. He watched the easy banter between them. He wasn't sure if Gibbs had a son but if he didn't, DiNozzo would make a good candidate. His own son had gone down in a hail of bullets from Gibbs gun and now Gibbs would soon know what it felt like to lose a son, or the next best thing to a son. But first he would watch his teammate suffer. The man smiled to himself. He was an expert when it came to computers and he knew what he had to do. He would send Gibbs videos on his computer of DiNozzo suffering at his hands, videos even the great NCIS wouldn't be able to trace. Gibbs would have no idea who was sending them and that alone would drive him nuts. But watching his teammate suffer and knowing it was because of him ………well that would be priceless. And if he was lucky he'd even get to watch a little of it. He turned his collar up against the cold December weather and walked away.

The man, whose name was Milton Dawson, had worked for NCIS's custodial staff for the last nine years. No one knew it was his son who was killed three years ago by Gibbs. He and his wife had divorced years ago when the boy was small and his son had been adopted by her new husband. The last names no longer matched but he had still stayed close to his son throughout the years. Two years before he was killed, his son had been arrested by Gibbs as a suspect in the rape and murder of a Navy nurse. During the trial he was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. He had served a year and a half of sheer hell. Brutally beaten and practically killed by the other inmates. He eventually escaped and was tracked down and killed by Gibbs after he had been cornered and had turned a weapon on an NCIS agent. But in Dawson's mind his son was innocent and framed by the NCIS. He had always assumed that Gibbs had been told not to bring his son in alive. Well now Gibbs was going to pay. He would watch someone he cared about first tortured, as his son had been, then killed. And would have to live with only memories of that person the way he had only his memories of his son to live with. Dawson had prepared for this day by taking computer courses and was now an expert. The day was coming soon when he would use the computer skills he had learned, and Gibbs would finally know what it felt like to lose a son.

The custodial staff worked third shift when only a skeleton crew of agents worked. He had occasionally run into Gibbs or his team when they had stayed late into the night or worked throughout the entire night on a case. They had always been nice to him, never acting like they were better then him. He would actually hate having to kill DiNozzo but it had to be done. Gibbs needed to feel the empty feeling in his heart like he had felt for the past three years. And Gibbs would know it was because of him that DiNozzo would have to suffer and die.

**The next morning- Friday**

Kate was on the phone during her break talking to her date for the night. It was Friday night and she was glad she didn't have to work tomorrow. She glanced over at Tony who had his head in his hands watching and listening to her conversation.

"Don't you have a life Tony?" She said as she put her hand over the mouthpiece.

"Yes I have a life Kate, but right now I'm enjoying yours."

"I keep thinking one day you'll grow up, you can't be this immature forever. But then I realize……..yes you can, and with the way my luck is going you will be a thorn in my side throughout my career."

"And you wouldn't have it any other way." Tony flashed her a smile.

She turned her back on him and continued her conversation, only quieter now.

Tony, no longer able to hear her, got out from behind his desk and walked over and sat on her desk. He never saw Gibbs approaching. He walked up behind Tony and stood there until Kate turned around and smiled at Gibbs. Tony's smile dropped as he realized he had once more been caught by Gibbs.

"Not enough work to keep you busy DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.

"No boss, plenty of work." Tony quickly hurried behind his desk and began typing.

Gibbs gave Kate a small smile and she looked at him and mouthed the words thank you.

After Gibbs walked away Tony looked over at Kate.

"So who is the date with, the guy with no chin or the guy with no hair?"

Kate shook her head exasperated.

"John has a very nice chin and I happen to like a bald men."

"You do?" Tony raised his hand to his hair.

"Yes I do." Kate said as she turned away and smiled to herself.

**Later**

The rest of the day was fairly routine, and since they weren't actively involved in a case at the time they were given the weekend off. Tony of course tried to get Kate to tell him where she was going on her date but she wouldn't tell him. He frowned; it looked like it was going to be a long boring weekend. He took out his little black book and thumbed through it. _Let's see_ he thought. He stopped at the name Linda Cooper. _Why not?_ He dialed her number and smiled when she picked up.

"Hey Linda, Tony."

"Tony! It's been a long time."

"Well, I've been busy." Tony said then quickly added. "Working."

"Yeah Tony, I know how you work…….."She smiled to herself. She knew Tony was a playboy, but she didn't care. He was good looking, sweet, and great in bed. She couldn't wait to hear what he had planned.

"Well anyway, what are you doing tomorrow?" He asked.

"Nothing……….Why, what did you have in mind?"

"I thought maybe a little Chinese………..and then we'll take it from there." He looked over at Kate to make sure she heard. She did but she acted like she wasn't interested.

"Sounds great. My place or yours?"

"How 'bout I'll pick it up and we'll meet at your place at seven?"

"I'll be waiting."

"Okay, see you then bye, bye."

He looked over at Kate and smiled.

"Well it looks like my weekend is set. Hey………..I got an idea, we could double."

Kate gave a little laugh.

"Not a snowball's chance in hell Tony." She started straightening up her desk before she left for the weekend. When she finished, she gave Tony a little smile.

"Have fun Tony, I'm sure I will."

"Yeah, you too Kate." Tony watched as she left, then gave a little sigh and began packing up to leave.

**Saturday at 6:00PM**

As Tony drove to the Chinese restaurant he tried to remember what Linda liked. He decided to get a little bit of everything. He pulled into the alley next to the restaurant and parked.

Dawson pulled across the street watching. As soon as Tony went in the restaurant he set up his video camera pulled out a cigarette and waited. About fifteen minutes later Tony came out carrying bags of food and headed toward his car fiddling with his keys. Dawson turned on the camera, pulled a dark mask over his face, pulled up his hood, and then headed across the street.

Tony sensed the man coming up behind him and had just begun to turn toward him when a hard blow to his head knocked him to his knees. The Chinese food flew out of his hands and splattered on the pavement. The blow left him completely stunned but instinctively he started reaching for his gun. The second blow dropped him and left him out cold. Dawson grabbed Tony by his legs and pulled his body over to his car. He smiled to himself as he threw Tony in the trunk and filmed him lying there his face covered in blood then slammed the trunk lid shut and turned off the camera. Now all he had to do was send an e mail to Gibbs with a video attachment. He already had the anti tracking device in place so he could e mail Gibbs to his heart's content and know that he couldn't be traced. He only wished he could see his face when he began receiving videos of his teammate being tortured and killed. Oh what sweet revenge he thought smiling as he pulled away.

Dawson took Tony to an abandoned warehouse where he had everything already setup, a generator, a laptop computer, and the video camera which he already had with him. He lay Tony of the cold concrete floor, removed his jacket and shirt and tied his hands to a hook on the floor attached to a makeshift pulley device. He then blindfolded him and put duct tape over his mouth. He then hauled him up till he hung by his wrists from the ceiling. Next he tied his feet together then fastened them to a hook imbedded in the floor. He was now totally helpless. Dawson put his hand up to DiNozzo's face, he was starting to get worried. Tony should have been starting to come around by now. Maybe he had hit him too hard. He took his video camera and filmed him hanging there. He zoomed in on his face, making sure you could see the large purple lump and jagged cut near his temple. Dried blood covered the entire side of his face. He turned the camera off for a minute and positioned it on a table then zoomed in on Tony's stomach. Dawson then put on the black ski mask and pulled up his hood. He picked up a knife and walked over to Tony.

TBC


	2. A Son for a Son Chapter two

Thanks to everyone who left such nice reviews. I see some of you like to beat up on Tony also. :-)

**A Son for a Son**

Chapter two

**Monday morning**

Gibbs sipped on his third cup of coffee as he sat in front of his computer and clicked on his e mail. He came to an e mail without a subject listed and clicked on it. All it said in large letters was _' Missing Something?'_ he noticed there was an attachment at the bottom.

"Damn junk mail." He muttered to himself as he deleted it.

He finished reading his other e mail then walked out to the main office. Kate was busy at her desk filing reports.

"Have a nice weekend off?" Gibbs asked as he walked over. None of his team had had an entire weekend off in a long time.

"Yeah I did." Kate smiled over at him. "Thanks for asking."

Gibbs glanced over at Tony's desk.

"DiNozzo not in yet?"

"No, I can't believe I bet him in for once." She smiled to herself. DiNozzo prided himself on being at his desk already working when she arrived in the morning. For once she got there first.

"Must have had a wild weekend." Gibbs winked at Kate then walked away smiling. He knew Tony and Kate were attracted to each other though neither one would admit it. Kate looked at Tony's empty desk for a few seconds wondering what he had done over the weekend to make him late. She shook her head and returned to her filing, she didn't want to think about it.

**Later**

A half hour later when Tony still had not appeared Kate tried calling his apartment, then his cell phone. No answer. She was beginning to worry and headed to Gibbs's office. The door was open but she knocked first then walked in.

"Tony's still not here."

"You tried calling him?"

"No answer. I'm getting worried Gibbs. It isn't like Tony not to call in if he was going to be late. Maybe he had an accident."

"Why don't you run over to his apartment and see if he's there. Maybe the phone is out or something and he overslept." Gibbs could see the worry on her face. "I'm sure he's fine Kate."

Kate nodded, hoping he was right. She hurried back to her desk and grabbed her coat.

**Tony's apartment**

"Tony?...Tony you in there?" She rang his bell then knocked on his door. When no one answered she took his key out of her purse. They each carried each others key just in case of an emergency which she considered this one. She opened the door and as she went in pulled out her gun, just in case.

"Tony you home?" She walked into his bedroom, her heart pounding. Nothing. She noticed the light on his answering machine blinking two times over and over. She pressed the button and felt a moment's guilt intruding on his privacy but knew there might be a clue to his whereabouts on the machine. A woman's voice came on.

'_Tony are you there? Hey, I thought you were bringing Chinese over at seven. Give_ _me a call when you get this'_ The time showed Saturday seven thirty PM.

The second message was from the same woman.

'_Now I'm starting to get worried Tony. Please call me as soon as you get this.'_ The time said eight ten PM.

Now Kate was really worried as she hurried back to work.

**NCIS Headquarters**

As she entered the building she hoped Tony would be sitting at his desk giving her a big 'worried about me' smile, but he wasn't. She hurried down to Gibbs's office. The door was open and this time she didn't bother knocking but walked right in.

"I can't find him Gibbs, I'm starting to get worried."

"Anything on his answering machine?"

"Just a woman asking where he was. Apparently he was suppose to bring Chinese food over to her house Saturday night……………He's missing Gibbs." She couldn't hide the worry in her voice.

When she used the word missing, something clicked in Gibbs's brain. Missing………… _'Missing Something?'_. He remembered………….He had deleted an e mail with those words.

"Damn!" He said softly.

He clicked on his e mail and was going to go into the trash to see if he could recover the deleted message. He didn't have to bother, at least ten more blank subject messages were in his e mail. Kate, sensing something was up, walked behind him and looked at his screen. He clicked on the message and _'Missing Something?'_ once more appeared on the screen with an attachment. He took a breath and held it, he hoped this wasn't about Tony. He clicked on the attachment then shut his eyes for a few seconds when a video came on the screen of a car parked in an alley way of a Chinese takeout.

"Oh God Gibbs, that's Tony's car!" Kate said as the camera zoomed in a little on the car and restaurant. She put her hand up to her mouth trying to prepare herself for what ever image was next.

Gibbs didn't answer her, he just watched the screen. The next image showed Tony coming out of the restaurant carrying bags of Chinese food as he walked toward his car. Next the video showed a figure dressed in black walking in front of the camera and toward Tony. Tony must have sensed someone approaching and was just starting to turn around when he is struck on the side of his head and falls to his knees dropping the bags. He tries to get up but is once more stuck and this time falls unconscious in the alley. The figure then looks up and down the street, his face hidden behind what looks like a black ski mask. He then grabs Tony by the legs and drags him toward the camera, a streak of blood follows his body. The video then shows Tony lying in the trunk of a car, blood running down the side of his face from a nasty cut near his temple. The screen then goes black.

For a moment Gibbs and Kate say nothing, each trying to absorb what they had just seen.

"Who'd want to hurt Tony?" Kate asked still staring at the blank screen.

"Just about anybody he ever arrested, or someone in their family………..who knows. There are a lot more people then you'd think………Can these e mails be traced?" Gibbs asked. All this technical stuff still confused him.

Kate nodded.

"I think so………I'll get McGee." She tried calling McGee but when his answering machine came on she hung up and hurried off to find him.

While Kate was away Gibbs clicked on the other e mails without a subject heading and discovered they were all alike. It was as if the kidnapper was mocking him. He shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. _Damn it DiNozzo, what did you walk into?_

After McGee showed up they left him work on trying to track the e mails while they headed off to the Chinese restaurant shown in the video. Kate knew of the location because once when she and Tony were working late on a case they had stopped there to take food back to the office so they could work through the night.

On the way to the restaurant Gibbs called the police to see if they had any report of a disturbance near the restaurant on Saturday night. The police confirmed that they had been called to the restaurant when blood and the bags of food were discovered in the street, but that was all they had. No witnesses had come forward and they hadn't been able to get any clear prints off of the bags of food so they had no idea who the victim was. In other words they had nothing to go on.

TBC

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	3. A Son for a Son Chapter three

**A Son for a Son**

Chapter three

**On the street outside the restaurant**

When they arrived at the location they checked with the restaurant employees but they were of little help. Tony's car still sat abandoned in the alleyway along with about a dozen other cars. The scene had already been cleaned and there was no trace of Tony. They found the location where they thought the video camera had more then likely been set up, probably on top of the car Tony had been put into. They also found three smoked cigarettes at the scene as if someone had been standing there for a while. Possibly the man, and they were assuming it was a man by the way he had easily drug Tony over to the car, had waited there while Tony placed his order. It shouldn't have taken more then ten to fifteen minutes to receive the food so either the man was a chain smoker or had nervously smoked the cigarettes. They were in the process of bagging them when Gibbs's cell phone rang, it was McGee.

"Agent Gibbs, you just received a few more e mails with a blank subject line. It could be from the same source."

"We'll be right in." Gibbs hung up.

"What's up?" Kate asked.

"My e mailer is back."

They drove back in silence, each hoping if there was another video attachment, this time it wouldn't show Tony dead.

**NCIS Headquarters**

They dropped the cigarettes off with Abby so she could run a DNA screening on them. Hopefully it would match someone in their database.

Gibbs mentally tried to prepare himself for whatever was in the e mail. He glanced over at Kate before clicking on the attachment. The video showed Tony hung up by his wrists, blindfolded and gagged, his feet attached to something on the floor making it impossible for him to move. Tony's head hung back and to the side. It was obvious he was either unconscious or………….Gibbs didn't want to think of the alternative. The camera then zoomed in on Tony's stomach and a figure could be seen walking in front of the camera with a knife then standing in front of Tony blocking the camera's view.

"What's he doing to him?" Kate asked, not really expecting an answer.

After a few minutes the man stepped away from the camera. It looked like letters had been carved into Tony's stomach but there was too much blood to make out the words. The man once more walked over to Tony and threw a bucket of water onto his stomach exposing the words, _'Gibbs'_ and _'payback'_ appeared briefly before fresh blood leaked out of the cuts and the letters were once more obscured.

Gibbs leaned back in his chair and rubbed his hand over his face. Tony was suffering in revenge for something he had done. He drew a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before exhaling.

The video then once more showed Tony's entire body. Even with the cutting he hadn't moved.

"Gibbs, you don't think he's…………?" Kate said but the words caught in her throat before she could continue.

"He's gagged and blindfolded, you wouldn't think they'd do that to a dead man. Tony's alive Kate." The last statement was said for both their benefits.

"Oh ……….thank God." She breathed a sigh of relief, she was too upset to have even thought of that. "Gibbs, maybe it's a good sign he's blindfolded. It they were going to kill him why bother blindfolding him? It wouldn't matter if he saw them."

"That could be true, and I hope it is, but they could be using psychological torture on him. What better way to make him suffer even more then keeping him in the dark, not being able to see what was going to happen next."

Gibbs stared at the screen, he knew he had told Kate that Tony was still alive but he needed to see some sign of life from Tony himself. Finally he saw it; Tony moved his head slightly apparently starting to come around. The person filming must have noticed also because the camera was immediately turned off.

**An abandoned warehouse**

Tony finally awoke to a blinding headache. He tried to put his hand up to his head but for some reason he couldn't. He couldn't open his eyes either. What the hell was going on! Was he dreaming? He also was freezing. Where the hell was he? _Think_ he said to himself. The last thing he remembered was driving to the Chinese restaurant. What had happened? Had he been in an accident? Was he in the hospital? Why couldn't he move? He started to panic and tried to move something, anything. His legs felt like they weighed a ton. Was he paralyzed? He couldn't see, he couldn't talk……….that's what it had to be. He was paralyzed or in some kind of a coma. A sharp pain shot through his head and he was glad to give into the darkness, it took him away from the horror of waking up.

**A little while later**

Dawson had noticed Tony regaining consciousness and turned off the camera. He then walked over to him. But Tony's consciousness only lasted a short time. _Now let's_ _see_ Dawson thought as he positioned the camera behind Tony and turned it back on. He then picked up one of the numerous buckets of water he had already stored at the warehouse and threw it on Tony's face waking him up.

Tony moaned as he was abruptly brought back to consciousness. Once more he tried to move but this time he figured out why he couldn't. He struggled frantically to free himself but it was impossible. He was totally helpless to what ever was going to happen to him. Dawson walked over and ran his hand over Tony's chest and stomach. He smiled as Tony tried to pull away from his touch but couldn't.

Tony attempts to pull away were futile. He shivered from the cold and the uncertainty of what this man had planned for him. When Dawson took off Tony's belt he really started to panic. Was he in the hands of some kind of sadistic rapist? His heart was pounding with fear of what was coming next. Dawson took great delight in doing everything slowly, allowing Tony plenty of time to worry. He then walked behind Tony and began beating him as hard as he could with the belt, over and over. Tony visibly flinched every time the belt touched him. What did they want from him? If they wanted information about something why didn't they ask him? Or, was this some sick person who enjoyed inflicting pain and he was taken because he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Finally the person stopped and Tony listened as they walked away for a few minutes. He could hear clicking sounds but had no idea what was going on. He then heard the door shut and he was left alone with his pain in the warehouse.

Dawson had downloaded the video to his e mail then set the e mail on a timer and was hoping to be back at NCIS headquarters so he could be there when Gibbs opened the next e mail. He wanted to see his face. He had dropped his ring near Gibbs's door yesterday under a table in the hallway, and that was going to be his excuse for coming in early. He drove slowly toward NCIS headquarters; he didn't want to get there too soon. He had set the timer to send the e mail in one and a half hours. He parked outside and waited till ten minutes before the e mail would arrive then entered the building and showed his ID to the security guard before heading toward Gibb's office.

TBC


	4. A Son for a Son Chapter four

Thanks for the reviews, I appreciate them. I apologize for any typos or discrepancies. I'm obviously not a writer and this is all just for fun.

**A Son for a Son**

Chapter four

**NCIS Headquarters**

It seemed like everyone he ran into was discussing Tony's kidnapping. He quickly headed to Gibbs's office and once there pretended to be looking for his missing ring which he had conveniently dropped outside of Gibbs's door earlier. The door was open and as he walked by he looked in. Gibbs and Kate were standing by his desk while McGee sat in front of the computer working on trying to break through the anti tracking device the kidnapper had in place.

"I heard about Agent DiNozzo and I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

Gibbs glanced up.

"Thanks Milton."

"Is there any news? Do you have any idea who has him?"

"I'm sorry but it's an ongoing investigation and I'm not at liberty to discuss it." Gibbs glanced over at Kate hoping she could find some way to get rid of Dawson. It wasn't that he didn't like the man, he did, but he didn't have time to answer a bunch of questions right now.

Kate smiled at Dawson.

"What are you doing here Milton? I thought you didn't come in till much later."

"I lost my ring while I was cleaning last night. This is the last place I remember seeing it. I was hoping to find it before someone else sweeps it up."

"Did you check lost and found?"

"Yeah, I called them but no one turned it in."

McGee suddenly sat straight up in the chair as another no subject e mail popped on.

"We just got another one."

He waited till Gibbs and Kate were standing behind him before he clicked on the e mail. _Too bad your friend has to suffer for your sins_ came on the screen in big letters. Everyone visibly tensed up as McGee clicked on the attachment.

Once more Tony is seen hanging from the ceiling, but this time the camera was focused on the back of him. Water dripped down his body and it was obvious he had just been doused with it. The man with the mask can be seen running his hands over Tony's chest and stomach area. Kate gave a little gasp as she watched the man unbuckle Tony's belt and tears filled her eyes. _Please don't do this to him_. She pleaded mentally with the man. Gibbs clenched and unclenched his fists, the hatred for this man growing by the minute. McGee winced and instinctively pushed himself away from the computer, hoping he wasn't about to watch his teammate being violated.

The man then walked behind Tony and began whipping him as hard as he could with the belt, welts appearing on his back from the blows. Tony's body jerked with each strike.

"My God Gibbs, we got to find him." Kate choked on her words, her vision blurred by tears.

"We will Kate, trust me." Gibbs looked up to see Dawson still standing at the door. He nodded to Kate who apologized to Dawson then shut the door.

Dawson leaned down and picked up his ring then smiled as he walked away. Gibbs had tried to cover up the pure anguish on his face but he had seen it. It was tearing him apart watching his teammate being hurt and all because of him.

"Anything?" Gibbs asked McGee who was still working on discovering someway to break through the anti tracking device and trace the e mails.

He shook his head as he continued to work.

"Sorry…………..this guy is good. He has some kind of scrambling device on his computer. I think we'll be able to break through eventually but I have no idea how long it could take, maybe hours, maybe days.

"We don't have days McGee."

Gibbs got up and headed for the door.

"Let's go see Abby, Kate."

She looked at McGee before leaving and could see the worried look on his face, she felt the same way. Whoever this was, was enjoying hurting Tony. They both knew sooner or later he might end up killing him.

**The Lab**

They walked into the lab and over to Abby who was sitting in front of a bunch of test tubes.

"Do you have anything for us Abby?" Gibbs asked hopefully.

"Sorry, nothing yet."

Ducky walked into the room.

"Any word on Tony?"

"'Fraid not Ducky. All we know is that Tony's been taken in revenge for something I did."

"So they're getting back at you through Tony."

"Yeah." Gibbs eyes glistened for a second before he managed to pull himself together.

"Do you have any idea who might be doing this Jethro?"

"I've been looking through old cases and haven't come up with anything……..but I will……Whoever this is………I'm taking them down." Gibbs stormed out of the room.

Abby looked up at Kate.

"How's he holding up?"

"He's hanging in there but he just got another e mail……… It's bad Abby………..I don't think Tony's going to make it out of this unless we find him quick."

"We're going to get him back Kate, you got to believe that."

"I wish I could be sure of that Abby." She wiped a tear away that threatened to run down her face. "Abby, this guy looks like he enjoys hurting Tony and I'm just…………." She shook her head, unable to continue.

TBC


	5. A Son for a Son Chapter five

**A Son for a Son **

Chapter five

**Warehouse**

Every bone in Tony's body hurt. His shoulders and arms were killing him from hanging for so long and his back stung from the whipping. He had been unconscious during the cutting of the words into his stomach and had no idea what the man had done to him other then the fact that his stomach burned. He didn't know which was worse, the pain or the complete feeling of helplessness. He had been through survival training as part of his NCIS training but this was different. He was hanging like a slab of beef waiting to be slaughtered and there was nothing he could do about it. Totally vulnerable to what ever this person had in store for him. He swore the worse part was the blindfold and duct tape over his mouth. He could only breathe through his nose and it was starting to cause a terrifying claustrophobic feeling.

A short while later Tony could hear someone enter the room. There was nothing he could do but wait for what ever was next.

Dawson whistled as he set up the camera then put on his black mask and hooded sweatshirt. Tony could tell the person was enjoying this which made his terror even worse.

After the camera was up and running Dawson walked over and ripped the duct tape off of Tony's mouth causing him to flinch in pain. But the pain was only momentary and he gratefully sucked in a deep breath of air. He licked his dry cracked lips that now bled slightly from the removal of the duct tape.

"May I please have some water……….I'm thirsty?" Tony asked hoping the person would give him some water but prepared himself for a slap across the face which he figured would be coming but didn't.

Tony could hear the man pouring a liquid. Maybe the man did have a heart after all he thought. Dawson then held the cup up to Tony who took in a mouthful hoping to quench his thirst, but immediately spit it back out. Whatever it was, it wasn't water.

"Why are you doing this?...What do you want from me?" Tony asked.

The man didn't answer but instead picked up a piece of wood that was on the floor which had nails driven through it. The nails only protruded about a quarter of an inch, not enough to cause any serious damage but enough to cause a lot of pain. He held it up in front of the camera then moved the camera behind Tony. Tony could hear the man walk behind him but had no idea what to expect. The blow came swift and painful. Tony cried out as the nails and board slammed into his lower back. He clenched his teeth as the man continued to strike him on the back where the welts from his previous beating were still evident. Trickles of blood ran down from the puncture wounds. Tony tried his best not to cry out, he didn't want to give the man the satisfaction of hearing the pain he was inflicting. But with each blow he couldn't help but throw his head back in pain, his back now completely covered in blood. When the man was finally finished he moved the camera to the front of Tony and zoomed in on his pain etched face.

"**Why are you doing this? What do you want?"** Tony yelled angrily at the man.

The man pulled the camera back revealing Tony's entire body then slammed the wood into his chest, right above the carved letters which had begun to scab over. Tony unprepared for the blow, cried out. Blood dripped down his chest over the letters.

"Oh God." Tony moaned.

That was the result that Dawson wanted. He smiled as he turned off the camera and fed the video into his computer.

**NCIS**

Gibbs called the police department. Earlier when he had received the second video he had contacted them asking for help in searching the numerous warehouses in the city in hopes that one of them was where Tony was being held. They could only assume it was a warehouse from the way it looked on the video, but it could also be someone's private residence, they had no way of knowing but they had to start somewhere. When an officer answered he explained who he was and why he was calling.

"I'm sorry Agent Gibbs, we haven't heard anything yet. We have officers out searching twenty four-seven, but it's a big city, it could take days."

"Just keep looking." Gibbs hung up the phone and ran his hand over his face. _Where are you DiNozzo?_ He got up and walked over to Kate's desk.

"Any luck?" He asked.

Kate had been going over old case files of Gibbs hoping to find a suspect, so far she had found nothing.

"Not yet. All I can say is you have a lot of enemies Gibbs but no one I can pin point."

"The police aren't having any luck either."

"What are we going to do Gibbs?" She looked at him and he could clearly see the worry written all over her face. "Tony's going to die if………"

"He's not going to die." He interrupted her. "Who ever is doing this is going to make a mistake, and when he does we're going to be there."

Kate looked back at her screen.

"This is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Anyone of these cases could be connected to Tony's disappearance, I just don't know."

"Just keep looking. Hopefully when Abby gets the results from the DNA back we'll have something to go on."

"But what if the DNA doesn't come up with a match? How are we going to find Tony then?"

"Kate." Gibbs put his hand on Kate's shoulder trying to calm her. "I told you, we're going to get him back, trust me."

**Warehouse**

Tony could hear the man working on something. He listened carefully and could hear him typing. Did he have a computer here? And if he did, why? What could he possibly be typing? And why wouldn't he talk to him and tell him what he wanted? Did he know the man? And was it a him, or could it possibly be a her? Tony didn't think so. Who ever it was had to have the strength to string him up like this. Unless there were more then one. A million questions flashed one after the other through Tony's brain. Then suddenly something seemed awfully familiar, a smell. He had smelled that cologne before, but where? He knew it might not mean anything but it kept his mind off of his discomfort for a while. The cologne had triggered something in Tony's memory but he couldn't quite grasp it. It was a different kind of cologne, he didn't really care for the smell, but he knew he had smelled it before. He then heard the man get up and walk over to him.

"Please tell me why you're doing this?" Tony thought he'd try again to get the man to answer him. "Just tell me what you want?"

In answer, the man slapped another piece of duct tape over Tony's mouth, patted him on the side of his face, then left and Tony was once more left alone in his misery.

TBC


	6. A Son for a Son Chapter six

Thanks once again for the nice reviews. I hope I don't disappoint anyone with the rest of the story.

**A Son for a Son **

Chapter six

**NCIS**

It seemed like an eternity till Abby finally called Gibbs down to her lab to give him the DNA results, Kate was with him.

"What do you got Abs?"

"Well Gibbs, we got a winner." She looked up at him and gave him a small smile which vanished almost immediately when she saw the worried look on his face. She could tell Tony's disappearance was bothering him more then he was showing outwardly. "It matched a Michael Johnson." Abby said as she pressed a button on her computer and a picture of Johnson and his bio came on.

"Michael Johnson." Gibbs repeated the name. "I was forced to kill him a few years back." Gibbs read from the screen. "Mother and stepfather both deceased, one half brother." He then turned to Kate. "Kate check on the brother and see where he lives then check his alibi. Also run a check on his biological father and any additional siblings he might have produced."

"Yes sir." Kate said as she turned and left.

"Let's just hope this gives us a lead." Gibbs said more to himself then to anyone else as he followed Kate out of the room.

**Later that night**

Gibbs had just gotten off the phone with the police department. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. They still had nothing to go on, Tony could be anywhere in the city or outside the city, they had no idea. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath as another blank subject message popped up on his screen. He called Kate into his office. McGee was already there, still trying to trace the e mails.

He could see the apprehension on his teammate's faces. He felt the same way. He dreaded what he might see on the newest video. He wished he could tell them they didn't have to watch, but he knew that they had to, just in case one of them might spot something on the video that the other one missed. Gibbs glanced at both of them then clicked on the e mail. The words _You are the cause of his pain _ appeared on the screen. Gibbs then clicked on the attachment.

They watched as the man removed the duct tape from Tony's mouth and as Tony asked for water then spit out what ever it was the man had given him. Kate gasped as the man showed the nail board to the camera then began beating Tony with it. At the end of the tape when he hit Tony in the chest and he cried out in pain it was too much for Kate and she turned away as tears welled up in her eyes. McGee stood with his mouth slightly opened, visibly shaken, and Gibbs could only sit staring as the screen turned black, then tried to pull himself together before he spoke.

"Anything yet on Johnson's family Kate?" He asked still staring at the blank screen.

"The brother comes out clean." Kate quickly wiped her eyes before turning around. "I'm still trying to track down his biological father. I have a call into the courthouse and they're going to check the marriage records for me. Unfortunately their computer was down when I called but it's expected to be up and running soon. They're going to call me back with the results."

McGee shook his head sadly as he stared at the blank screen.

"He's been hanging there since Saturday Sir, and it's freezing out. If we don't find him soon he's going to freeze to death if that bastard doesn't kill………." He stopped before he finished. He could tell by the look on their faces that they were all thinking the same thing.

"Tell me something I don't know McGee." Gibbs said as he rubbed his forehead. "Getting any further with the trace?"

"No, not yet. This guy is good but sooner or later we'll get through."

"Tony doesn't have _'later'_. We need a trace now. If you can't do it then you call every damn computer expert in the country and get one in here to break through his security."

"Yes sir."

**Warehouse**

Tony knew if he didn't get out of there soon he was going to lose it. He yanked angrily on the chains around his hands. How long had he hung here? And why him? What did they want with him? Was Gibbs or anyone looking for him? Maybe it was Sunday and no one even knew he was missing, or maybe nobody cared. He felt like he had been hanging there for weeks. Time didn't mean anything anymore, only the cold, pain and fear. He almost wished the man would come back. Anything, even torture, was better then hanging here alone. What if the man left and wasn't coming back? Was he going to die like this? He was so cold. Well he thought, at least he'd probably freeze to death before he died of thirst. How long could a man live without water? Which was worse, freezing to death or dying of thirst? And if the man came back what would he do to him next? Question after question kept flashing through his mind. He swallowed hard, his throat was already starting to get sore from the bitter cold. He tried to stop shivering but couldn't, he knew any moment the man could decide to kill him and he was as helpless as a baby to try to stop him.

TBC


	7. A Son for a Son Chapter seven

**A Son for a Son**

Chapter seven

Dawson went out for a leisurely dinner then headed into work. He felt confidant and proud of himself. He was making the great Special Agent Gibbs suffer. When he got into work he watched as DiNozzo's teammate McGee still struggled trying to break his security code. Another man stood over his shoulder watching. Dawson didn't recognize the man and figured they must have called another specialist in. He knew eventually they would break through his anti tracking device but not for a while. But anyway, he'd be out of the country by then. He debated whether to go home and finish Tony off tonight or film a little more of him suffering for Gibbs's sake. Kate was also at her desk as was Gibbs. _Guess they're going to stay the night_ Dawson thought. He smiled to himself. _Stay as long as you want, you're not getting DiNozzo back alive_. He couldn't wait to see Gibbs's face after he got the film of Tony dying. But how was he going to do it? He could just shoot him and get it over with or………..He'd have to think about it for a while. He decided to find out what they knew so far. He knew Kate would probably tell him at least a little of what they had learned. After all he was friends with all of them. He wiped the smirk off of his face and walked over to Kate.

"Do you know anything about Tony yet?"

"No, nothing yet Milton."

"Don't you have any leads? Isn't there anyone you can think of that would grab Tony?"

"We appreciate your concern Milton, but I'm not allowed to discuss the case."

Milton looked down sadly making Kate feel sorry for him.

"It's not that I don't trust you Milton it's just…………."

"I understand."

Just then Gibbs walked over to Kate. Dawson walked away pretending to clean but stayed within ear shot.

"Anything Kate?"

"Nothing yet. The city clerk called me about an hour ago and said their computer should be up and running soon, but she can't tell me when."

"Soon as you hear anything you let me know."

"I will." She looked up at him. "Isn't there anything else we can do"

"We have the entire police force searching vacant warehouses. Until we come up with anything conclusive………………no, there's nothing we can do."

Dawson walked away. So they were looking in empty warehouses. They would first search the city which would take them hours if not days. But Tony wasn't in the city. He was in an old warehouse outside the city limits. Yeah, probably tonight he'd have to figure out what he wanted to do with DiNozzo. He could just let him hang there till he froze to death. But what if by some small chance he was discovered. No, he'd have to deal with him tonight or at least by tomorrow morning. And what was this about a city clerk? What were they trying to track down? Dawson was beginning to get a little nervous. Maybe he'd go home sick today and get it over with. It was really a shame though that Tony had to die but………it wasn't his fault…………it was Gibbs's fault. He decided to hang around a short time then go home. He'd make it look good. He began coughing and rubbing his throat. Yeah, he'd make it look good, real good. They wouldn't have any idea that he was going home to kill one of their own.

**Warehouse**

Tony was freezing. He now had a bad sore throat making it difficult to swallow. He tried to fight back the growing feeling of dread. He knew if his sore throat turned into a cold he was as good as dead. With his mouth taped shut there would be no way for him to breathe. He wished the man would come back and get it over with. It would be better then slowly suffocating.

**Later**

Two hours later Tony got his wish, the man returned. After a few minutes he once more heard what he thought sounded like typing. _What the hell was he doing? _Tony wondered. Dawson once more put on his mask and hooded sweatshirt. He turned the camera on and walked over to Tony then pulled the duct tape from his mouth. His lips were dry and cracked and immediately started to bleed but Tony was just grateful to be able to breathe easier.

"Tell me what you want?...Maybe if I knew what you wanted we could work something out."

Dawson didn't answer.

"Look………..I can't help you if I don't know what you want."

Dawson patted Tony on his side then walked over to the generator and began attaching wires to it. He then taped the other ends of the wires to various spots on Tony's body.

"What are you doing?" Tony asked, his heart beat pounding in his ears.

Dawson only smiled as he turned on the generator and threw a switch. Tony threw his head back and cried out as the current shot through his body. His body convulsed as his muscles contracted. To Tony it seemed like hours before Dawson turned the power off but in reality it was only a few seconds. Dawson leaned back on the table admiring his work_. Gibbs is going to love this tape._ He thought smiling to himself. Tony gasped as the current was shut off then began trembling. Blood trickled down from his mouth where he had bitten his tongue and lip.

"**Why are you doing this! Just tell me why!"** Tony screamed at the man.

Dawson only smiled and threw the switch again, this time leaving it on a little longer then the last time. When he turned it off this time, Tony's body was covered in sweat, his head hung down on his chest.

"No more………..please no more." He moaned.

Dawson walked over and stood in front of Tony, the camera still rolling. He leaned in close to Tony's ear and whispered.

"Yell for Gibbs."

Tony weakly shook his head no. _So this man knew Gibbs……….They why did he_ _grab him? And why call for Gibbs? How could Gibbs hear him? Did the man have his_ _boss on the phone?_ Tony gave a little laugh. If this man expected Gibbs to pay to get him back he was going to be disappointed. NCIS wasn't going to pay ransom for one of their own agents. And Gibbs……….well, he wasn't even sure if Gibbs liked him. Yeah this man, who ever he was, was going to be disappointed.

"Yell for Gibbs or you'll get double what you just got."

"Forget it." Tony hissed through bloody teeth.

"You'll break sooner or later."

"Go to Hell."

"You first."

Dawson once more began shocking Tony turning up the voltage a little more each time. Finally Tony could no longer stand it, he threw his head back and screamed in agony.

TBC


	8. A Son for a Son Chapter eight

**A Son for a Son**

Chapter eight

"**Oh God please … no more … no more!" **

The pain was unbearable but Tony was determined not to give the man what he wanted. He would not call for Gibbs.

Dawson kept hitting Tony with jolt after jolt, each one stronger then the last. Finally Tony cracked; he couldn't take it any longer.

"**Gibbs! ... Gibbs! Oh God!..."** As Tony cried out a sob escaped from his mouth. The man had finally broken him. Tony was disappointed in himself; he should have been able to hold out. Bitter tears of frustration ran down his face. He had failed and the man had won.

Dawson smiled. Gibbs's teammate calling out for him was sure to put a knife right through his heart. He walked over to Tony and punched him twice in the stomach as an added bonus to the tape. Tony gasped as he felt like all the air had been knocked out of his lungs. He hung there gasping for air, praying the man wouldn't put the tape back over his mouth. He knew if he did, he would suffocate. But instead Dawson suddenly pulled out a gun and put it at Tony's head then pressed a remote control button he held in his hand shutting down the video portion of the tape but leaving the audio on. All the tape caught was the sound of the gunshot.

**NCIS Early Tuesday morning**

Gibbs was once more on the phone with the police department when another e mail popped on his screen. He swallowed hard, Tony had been taken sometime Saturday night and Gibbs had no idea how long this man was going to play with him before he killed him. He called Kate and McGee into his office.

"I got another one." Gibbs said his voice void of emotion. They could tell Tony's kidnapping was taking a toll on him.

Kate and McGee glanced at each other, both relieved that Gibbs hadn't called them in to tell them that Tony had been found dead. As relieved as they were, both of them dreaded seeing the video.

Gibbs clicked on the e mail and the words _Soon he will die_ came on the screen. He clicked on the attachment and they watched in horror as Tony was shocked over and over, his body convulsing with each jolt. They then watched as the man walked over to Tony and whispered something that they couldn't hear and Tony's reaction, first _'Forget it'_ then _'Go to Hell'_. All three of them shut their eyes briefly and winced in sympathy as Tony cried out begging his tormentor to stop. When he finally screamed out for Gibbs, Kate and McGee automatically looked at Gibbs worried how he might react. He showed no outward sign of emotion, but they both noticed his eyes seemed to glaze over as if he was lost in his own misery and thoughts. When the gunshot ended the video, Kate had to steady herself against Gibbs's desk.

"**Oh my God! He shot him! He shot Tony!"** She could barely get the words out and didn't even try to hide the tears that streamed down her face. McGee instinctively pulled her into a hug, his own eyes tearing up as he stared at the blank screen in shock, each thinking they had just witnessed Tony's execution. Gibbs sat in front of the computer his eyes now closed. He took a deep breath then opened them a few seconds later.

"He didn't shoot Tony."

"**What!"** Kate looked at him in disbelief. "We saw it Gibbs…."

"We saw nothing Kate. This jerk gets his rocks off showing us him torturing Tony. If he had killed Tony he would have shown it. Tony is still alive."

Just then another agent appeared at his office.

"Excuse me Sir." He said to Gibbs then looked at Kate. "Kate, the courthouse is on the phone."

"Transfer the call over here." Gibbs ordered.

"Oh please let them give us something to go on." Kate said as she waited for the call. When it rang she grabbed it.

"Hello … yes …yes… " She looked back and forth between Gibbs and McGee a look of shock on her face. "Are you sure? …Okay…thank you."

Kate looked up at Gibbs in disbelief.

"Dawson … Milton Dawson is Michael's biological father."

"**The son of a bitch was right under our noses!"** Gibbs started heading for the door. "Kate you're with me. McGee keep working on breaking through his security. You break through, you call me."

"Right Boss."

They got Dawson's address and sped toward his house.

**Warehouse**

Tony kept fighting to stay in some kind of control. He knew if he gave into the panic he was feeling he would lose it completely. He was now shivering violently, both from the pain and the fear of what ever was next. Plus trying to breathe was getting more and more difficult with each passing moment.

Dawson once more set up the camera and turned it on.

"Just tell me why … why are you doing this? … Please, I just need to know why?" Tony said through bloody lips. He tried to shift his position a little and his whole body screamed out in agony. From all the pain he was having in his side he was pretty sure a rib or two were broken, and he was positive his shoulder was dislocated. He dreaded what ever the man had in store for him next.

"You need to die for Gibbs's sins." He spoke, not worrying any longer about the camera picking up his voice. He knew they would be onto him soon anyway, but by the time they were he'd be on his way to Canada.

Tony was glad the man at least was talking to him.

"Why? What did he do to you?" Tony hoped to keep the man talking, maybe he could establish some kind of relationship with him.

Dawson thought for a second then decided Tony would be dead in a few hours so what harm would it do to tell him.

"He killed my son."

"You're son? ... But I'm not Gibbs's son, why did you grab me?  
"You're the next best thing to a son he has."

Tony gave a little laugh and flashed a brief smile.

"The next best thing? … I'm not even sure if Gibbs likes me … I'm sorry but I think you picked the wrong guy." Something about the man's voice sounded so familiar. Where had he heard it before?

As Dawson talked he walked over and picked up a suitcase in the corner of the room. _Might as well get this over with_. He opened it, then carefully began assembling the contents of it, a small stick of dynamite, wires and a small clock. _No Tony, I didn't pick the wrong man._

TBC


	9. A Son for a Son Chapter nine

Thanks once more to everyone who took the time to review. I'm glad you seem to be enjoying the fic.

**A Son for a Son**

Chapter nine

**Dawson's house**

Gibbs had notified the police and told them to meet him at Dawson's house.

"I can't believe Milton is involved in this. He always liked Tony." Kate said looking at Gibbs as they pulled up in front of the house.

"Grief can make people do things they wouldn't ordinarily do."

"You don't think he'll really kill Tony do you?"

"I don't know Kate, but we have to go on the assumption that he will."

They noticed Dawson's car wasn't in the driveway as they walked over to the police who had also just arrived. Gibbs had them surround the house and had Kate and some of the officers wait out front while he went around to the back with a few of the officers.

He tried the door and couldn't believe his luck, it was unlocked. He and the officers, guns drawn, entered the house. He radioed Kate that they were in and to hold her position in case Dawson was there and tried to make a break for the front door. They searched the entire house, Dawson wasn't there and there weren't any clues as to where he was holding Tony. Gibbs and Kate headed back to headquarters leaving officers in unmarked cars to watch Dawson's house with orders to bring him in to NCIS

headquarters immediately if he showed up.

**NCIS**

McGee was still working on Gibbs's computer when they returned.

"Did you get Dawson?" He asked anxiously.

"He wasn't home." Kate answered. "We have an APB out on his car and his house under surveillance."

"How's the trace coming?" Gibbs asked looking over McGee's shoulder at the screen.

"We're making progress but…."McGee shook his head.

"How soon?"

"Any minute or a few hours it's hard to tell."

**Warehouse**

Dawson rigged his homemade bomb then started taping it around Tony's waist.

"What are you doing?" Tony's heart pounded as he felt Dawson wrapping the tape around him.

"It's time to end this." Dawson said casually as he continued taping. "Don't worry, when this goes off you won't feel a thing."

Tony swallowed hard. _My God it's a bomb! _He breathed deeply, his chest rising and falling. He tried to stay calm. He knew flipping out wasn't going to get him anywhere.

"Don't do this…please. I don't want to die, not like this." He didn't want to beg for his life but he was terrified. He was in agony and a small part of him wanted to die and get it over with, but the rest of him wanted to live. There was so much he still wanted to do.

"Sorry." Dawson was sincere, he actually hated having to kill Tony for something Gibbs had done. But it had to be done. Gibbs needed to know how he had felt these last three years.

Dawson set the camera to show the video of him taping the bomb on Tony, then he programmed it to switch over to live feed once the video was viewed.

"This will all be over soon Tony."

"You know me?" Tony asked when he heard the man use his name.

"Yeah …you know I really hate having to do this but …you need to die because of Gibbs's sins."

"Please …don't do this."

"Sorry but I've been waiting a long time for this." As an added touch Dawson poured a container of gasoline over Tony then programmed the computer to send the video. "Good bye Tony." He said as he left.

Tony took a deep breath trying to control his trembling. The breath only caused him to break into a coughing fit. He felt lousy and now he was going to die and there was nothing he could do but wait for it to happen.

**NCIS**

"Gibbs you got another one." McGee called over to Gibbs who was standing at Kate's desk.

They both walked over, each praying that Dawson didn't know they were on to him, for if he did, there would be no reason to keep Tony alive. They watched as Tony talked to Dawson and listened to his responses. Gibbs winced outwardly when Tony told Dawson that he wasn't even sure if Gibbs liked him. As they continued watching they were all horrified to see Dawson strapping what looked like a bomb to Tony, then pouring some kind of liquid over him. The video shut off for a few seconds then came on again _'live feed'_ and _'Boom!'_ were written at the bottom of the screen. Tony could be seen still hanging from the ceiling, the bomb securely attached to his waist.

"Oh my God Gibbs this is live feed, he wants you to watch Tony actually die in front of you!"

"Why the hell can't they track down Dawson!" Gibbs picked up a cup on his desk and threw it against the wall in frustration. He was terrified he might actually lose one of his team. Dawson was right, Tony was like a son to him and it would shatter him to lose him.

Now all they could do was wait and pray that the All Points Bulletin would pay off and the police would find Dawson or more important find Tony.

**A little over an hour later**

The wait was agonizing but they finally got the call. Dawson had been picked up heading north on the turnpike and was being brought to NCIS headquarters.

**A half hour later**

Gibbs walked into the interrogation room while Kate watched from behind the two way mirror. McGee stayed back at Gibbs desk, still working on a trace. Dawson was seated at the table and looked up as Gibbs came in.

"Where is he?" Gibbs stood next to Dawson.

"Where is who?" Dawson gave Gibbs a little smirk.

"I'm not going to play games with you Milton. Where is he?" Gibbs could barely control his anger.

"Well let's just say you might as well clear off his desk …he won't be coming back."

Gibbs grabbed him and pulled him out of the chair and slammed him against the wall.

"**Where is he! Tell me!" **He screamed into Dawson's face.

"Do you feel the pain Agent Gibbs? Do you feel the loss? ... Now you know how I felt for the last three years."

TBC


	10. A Son for a Son Chapter ten

**A Son for a Son**

Chapter ten

"Your son raped and killed a nurse, then he turned a gun on an agent! I had no choice! Tony had nothing to do with it!"

"Doesn't matter. My son's dead, now your surrogate _son _will be dead. A son for a son., it has a poetic ring."

"If Tony dies, you'll never make it to court." Gibbs whispered through clenched teeth. **"Now tell me where he is!"** Gibbs put his hand around Dawson's throat.

Just then McGee burst into the room.

"Sorry Gibbs, but I thought you'd want to know right away. We know where Tony is."

Gibbs released Dawson who slumped against the wall.

"You're a dead man if we don't get Tony back alive."

Dawson managed to smile as he rubbed his neck.

"Even if you do manage to get him back, I broke his spirit Gibbs; he'll never be the same."

Gibbs ignored him as he hurried out of the room.

**Warehouse**

Gibbs and Kate sped to the location that McGee had given them. They radioed for a bomb squad to meet them there as soon as possible. Not wanting to wait for back up, they cautiously entered the building and searched floor to floor until they finally located Tony. Gibbs swallowed the lump in his throat when he saw his teammate hanging in the cold warehouse, the strong smell of gasoline permeated the air.Kate put her hand up to her mouth and blinked back tears, horrified by Tony's condition. His body was covered in blood, bruises, and what looked like small burns from where the wires had been attached to him. His head hung down on his chest and at first they thought they were too late, but they could tell he was alive when they saw his chest rise and fall in short little breaths. It looked like he was having difficulty breathing. Kate started to head for him but Gibbs grabbed her arm and nodded toward the bomb attached to Tony's waist. She understood, the bomb could be motioned sensitive and could go off with the slightest touch.

"DiNozzo." Gibbs said softly not wanting to startle him.

Tony weakly lifted his head. Was this some kind of trick?

"Boss?"

"Yeah Tony, it's me. Kate's here too."

"Hey." Tony flashed a quick smile through bloody teeth. "You gonna dock my pay boss?"

Gibbs smiled, glad that Tony could still joke even though he could tell he had to be in a lot of pain.

"We'll talk about that later, once we get you out of here."

"Kate, how was _your_ weekend?" Tony asked, his smiled faded as he started to cough.

"Not as exciting as yours it seems." She gave a quivering smile. Her heart broke as she looked at him. A blindfold still covered his eyes but she could see the large purple bruise on the side of his face where he had first been hit in the alleyway.

Gibbs motioned Kate to stay where she was as he walked over to Tony.

"Tony, I need you to stay as still as possible. We have help on the way." Gibbs checked the bomb out the best he could without touching it or Tony. According to the timer it had forty five minutes to go before detonating. He carefully reached up and removed Tony's blindfold. He blinked hard a few times while his eyes adjusted to the light. When he finally looked at Gibbs, Gibbs was taken back by the pure exhaustion and pain in Tony's eyes. He winced in sympathy and cursed Dawson under his breath. He wanted nothing more then to cut Tony down and get him to a hospital but he knew they had to be careful, anything could set the bomb off.

Tony glanced over at Kate and could see the tears in her eyes.

"Tears Kate?" He gave her a small smile. "I didn't know you cared."

"Allergies Tony." She said simply, not wanting him to know her true feelings.

He smiled then looked back at Gibbs.

"Is there any water boss?…I'm so thirsty."

Gibbs looked down at the water containers on the floor. As much as he wanted to give Tony a drink he knew he couldn't, he had no way of knowing if the water was drinkable or if Dawson had poisoned it.

"Sorry Tony, but after we get you out of here, you can have all the water you want."

Tony nodded and licked his dry cracked lips trying to moisten them, but he had no moisture left in his mouth. He looked down toward his stomach and got his first look at the bomb, then he looked back up at Gibbs.

"Don't worry DiNozzo, the bomb squad will be here any minute."

"You two better get out of here." Tony tried to move a little to take some of his weight off of his sore shoulder, and then grimaced in pain as his shoulder protested. Gibbs looked over at Kate.

"Kate, go out and wait for the bomb squad … then stay out of the building."

"What about you?"

"I'm staying."

"**No!"** Tony looked at Gibbs. "If this goes …well there's no sense in both of us being here."

"I'm staying Tony, end of story." Gibbs stated, there was no way he was leaving him. He then looked at Kate. "Go on Kate, get out of here."

She knew better then to argue with him.

"I'll see you both on the outside." She prayed that was true. She then looked at Tony.

"Hey, I'll buy you dinner when this is all over."

"Anything I want?"

"Anything." She smiled then glanced at Gibbs with a worried look before she left.

Once Kate had left the room Tony squeezed his eyes shut and turned his face slightly away as he tried to hide how much pain he was in from Gibbs. But Gibbs could see through the charade.

"Tony, Kate is gone, you don't have to put on an act any longer." He could tell Tony was trying to be brave in front of her.

Tony kept his eyes shut for a few more seconds but when he opened them Gibbs could see the pain in them as one lone tear ran down Tony's face.

"I'm sorry Gibbs." Tony apologized, he hated appearing weak in front of his boss.

"Don't you apologize…You've been through hell Tony. You just let it out."

Tony tried once more to fight the pain but finally he couldn't any longer.

"Oh God Gibbs, I feel lousy." He moaned, his face etched with pain.

"I know son … I'm just sorry we couldn't have found you sooner."

It was then that Tony spotted the camera.

"He filmed this?"

"Yeah, he sent e mails to me with a video attachment. Tony, we watched everything he did to you." Gibbs's voice cracked a little with emotion.

"Then you heard me call for you?"

Gibbs nodded.

"He told me to yell for you … I tried not to but…" He looked away, he felt ashamed that Gibbs had seen the man break him. What else had he seen or heard he wondered?

Gibbs could see Tony's discomfort.

"Tony, you did nothing wrong." He said softly.

"I should have been able to hold on…not call for my boss and cry like a baby." Tony swallowed hard and shook his head, disappointed in himself.

"Tony…hey, listen to me." Gibbs reached up and turned Tony's head gently toward him. "There is nothing for you to be ashamed about…Do you hear me? Nothing."

Tony nodded slightly, then changed the subject.

"How did you find me?"

"We got the guy who did this to you."

"Who was it and why?"

"Dawson …I killed his son about three years ago and he was getting back at me through you."

"Dawson? Milton Dawson the janitor?" He looked at Gibbs in disbelief. Milton and he had always gotten along, he couldn't believe Dawson would want to hurt him.

"Yeah."

Tony shut his eyes remembering the cologne and now realized where he had smelled it before and on whom. When he reopened his eyes he tried to take a deep breath but couldn't seem to get enough air. It felt like someone was standing on his chest.

"Oh God Gibbs where are they?" He groaned as another round of coughing hit him.

His arms were killing him, his whole body screamed in pain. Right now all he wanted was to be cut down and to lay on a soft bed and sleep for days.

"They'll be here soon. Just a few more minutes and this will be over."

Gibbs's heart ached for Tony. He looked so cold and miserable and there was nothing he could do for him, not with a bomb attached to him. He remembered hearing Tony on the video telling Dawson that he thought maybe Gibbs didn't even like him. _Well you were wrong Tony. If I could change places with you I would in a second._ Dawson was right, Tony was like the son he never had.

TBC


	11. A Son for a Son Chapter eleven

Thanks once again for the reviews. I really enjoy reading your different comments. I have 3 chapters to go then it's finished. But I decided to let it up to you to decide if Tony makes it or not. So if you're reading this, and you review it, just put lives or dies in your review and which ever gets the most votes, that's the way I'll end it. I have already written my own ending, but I'll change it depending on how the votes go.

**A Son for a Son**

Chapter eleven

"I … don't understand Boss … why did he take me? ... I'm nothing to you I mean we're not family…or anything like that."

"He took you Tony because you're the closest thing to a son I have. He wanted my _son_ to die because his had."

"Oh … so you think of me as your son?" Tony flashed a smile. _So Gibbs thinks of me as a son_ he thought. _Wait till Kate hears this._

"**He** thinks of you as my son Tony, don't get it mixed up."

"Oh." Tony's smiled dropped.

Gibbs turned around trying to hide his smile from Tony. _Yeah Tony, I think of you_ _as my son, but I'll be damned if I'll let you hold it over me the rest of my life. _Gibbs felt a sharp little pain of guilt shoot through his heart as he realized Tony might not even have a life. The bomb could go off and…. He wasn't going to let his mind go there. Tony was going to make it through this.

**A short time later**

The bomb squad finally arrived and quickly dressed in their protective clothing. They then entered the building and checked out the situation.

"You're going to have to leave." One of the officers said to Gibbs as he examined the bomb.

"No way." Gibbs flashed his identification at the man.

"Okay, but you'll have to stand behind a shield." The man instructed another officer to return to their truck for the shield.

"Does anybody have anything to drink in their car? My agent hasn't had anything to drink since Saturday." Gibbs said.

"I'll check." The man who was going for the shield said. He returned a short time later with a half drunk soda and the shield.

"This is all I could find."

"That'll do."

Gibbs took the soda over to Tony and held it up to him.

"Just a little at a time." Gibbs said. He knew a dehydrated man would try to gulp the soda down and it would just end up coming back up.

Tony sipped on the soda. He had never tasted anything so good.

"Thanks." Tony said. "It could have used a little more ice though." He grinned at Gibbs but was then hit by another wave of pain and turned his head to the side, his teeth clenched in pain. He broke into another coughing fit, this time little specks of blood sprayed from his mouth.

"You hang in there Tony. It'll be over soon." Gibbs frowned when he saw the blood. _God Tony how bad did he hurt you?_ He wondered.

Tony nodded, right now he felt so bad he didn't care whether he lived or died.

The officer opened the shield and handed it to Gibbs.

"I need you to stand back against the wall and keep this up in front of you."

Gibbs nodded then leaned close to Tony.

"I'm going to be right here, we're walking out of this together Tony."

"Gibbs." Tony shook his head weakly. He was terrified that Gibbs was going to die alongside him and he didn't want to be responsible for that. " Please, just get out of here."

"Ain't going to happen Tony."

"No … no sense you dying with me …" Tony managed a small smile. "Hey, what'll Kate say if I manage to get the boss killed?"

"No one is dying today Tony." Gibbs wanted to reach over and touch Tony to reassure him, but his entire body was covered in bruises and sores and he wasn't sure where to touch him without causing him more pain. An officer came over and instructed Gibbs to move to the far wall and to keep the shield in front of him. He hated having to leave Tony's side but knew the police had work. to do. "Stay strong Tony just a little while longer." He said as he was led away.

The bomb squad then moved in and began their attempt to disarm the bomb.

**Ten minutes later**

"It's a dummy timer." An officer said as he examined the clock. "This thing could go off at any time."

Tony who was barely conscious raised his head slightly.

"Look…everyone … just get out of here ... please." He said weakly. He had finally given up and just wanted it over with, he didn't have the strength to fight any longer.

"We're not leaving here without you." The officer said to Tony as he continued examining the bomb. "But I want all unessential personal out of the building, and that includes you." He said glancing over at Gibbs.

"I'm not leaving here without him."

"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. I want you out of here now … or I'll have you escorted out."

Gibbs glared at the man, but knew he was only doing his job and Tony didn't have time for them to argue. He walked over to Tony.

"I'll be right outside waiting for you Tony." He turned to leave.

"Boss." Tony called out weakly.

Gibbs face wrinkled with concern as he looked at Tony, he could tell that his breathing was getting worse.

"Yeah." He said as he turned around and walked back to Tony.

"If this … well, it this doesn't work out … I … I just want you to know that it was an honor working with you sir."

Gibbs blinked back tears, Tony looked terrible, and he could tell it took all of his strength just to talk.

"You can tell me that when you're out of here. Right now all I want you to think about is a nice hot shower and a soft bed."

Tony gave Gibbs a small smile and nodded.

Gibbs swallowed the lump in his throat as he turned around and left. He felt like he was deserting a teammate.

**Outside **

Kate walked over to Gibbs when she saw him exit the building.

"Tony…is he okay?" Kate asked worried, she knew Gibbs would never leave him unless… _Oh God, please don't say he's dead_.

Gibbs nodded, too choked with emotion to speak.

"My God Gibbs did you see what Dawson did to him? All those bruises and soaking him in gasoline when it's so cold out. I can't believe Dawson would hurt Tony like that."

"Dawson's only thought is to hurt me, and he's doing that by attacking one of my team." He said softly as he looked back at the building.

"What's going on Gibbs? Why aren't they bringing Tony out?" She too looked over at the building when she noticed the worried look on his face.

"They're still working on the device. The timer was a fake … and I was ordered out of the building."

"So they still haven't gotten the bomb off of Tony?" She asked, her eyes wide.

"They're going to Kate, Tony's going to be fine."

He had just gotten the words out when the building was rocked by a small explosion.

TBC


	12. A Son for a Son Chapter twelve

Thanks once more for your reviews. I appreciate that you take the time to review this story. I just want to say I'm shocked and saddened by the season finale. I won't say anything else in case any of you didn't see it yet.

**A Son for a Son**

Chapter twelve

Both Gibbs and Kate looked at the building in shock and horror as several firemen and policemen ran into the building which now had a small amount of smoke coming out of one of the windows.

"**Oh please not Tony Gibbs, not Tony!"** Kate spun around tears pouring down her face sobbing.

Gibbs immediately wrapped his arms around her hugging her tight, his own eyes welling up with tears. After a few seconds he pulled back from her and looked into her face as he held her by her arms. For her sake he had to be strong.

"Kate, I want you to stay here. I'm going in to see … I need to…" He couldn't speak; all kinds of emotions were running through him. He left go of her and ran into the building ignoring all attempts by the police to stop him. Kate waited outside her hands up to her face, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Gibbs headed for the room where Tony had been held. He hesitated briefly, dreading what he might see, before taking a deep breath in the corridor then stepping into the room.

He couldn't believe his eyes. Tony was still hanging in the room, the bomb now gone. Two men were cutting the chain that attached his feet to the ground.

"What…? Gibbs said shaking his head looking at the officer who had talked to him earlier.

The officer smiled at Gibbs seeing his expression of shock. He was glad he could deliver good news to this man instead of bad.

"Sorry we didn't have time to warn you but we had no idea when the thing was going to go off. It was a small device designed to just kill the person it was attached to or anyone standing right next to them. The only option we had was to just cut it off him and toss it into an empty room; there was nothing else we could do. When it hit the floor it went off." The officer looked back at Tony. "Now we need to get him down from there and to a hospital." He shook his head sadly. "Your friend looks like he was really worked over." He said looking at the words carved into Tony's stomach.

"Yeah, some sick bastard did this to him."

Gibbs walked over and stood in front of Tony. He reached up and gently touched the letters as he blinked back tears. He couldn't tell if Tony was conscious or not. His eyes were shut and his head hung on his chest, his breathing was coming in short little gasps.

After the chain at his feet was cut they slowly lowered him so his feet were completely on the floor while they took the bolt cutter and cut the chain holding Tony to the ceiling. Tony's legs were so numb that they could no longer support him, and once released he crumbled into Gibbs's waiting arms. He held him against his body his cheek resting on Tony's head as he gently lowered him to the ground. He couldn't believe how cold Tony's body was.

"It's over son, it's finally over."

Tony slowly opened his eyes and looked into Gibbs's.

"Thanks … for … getting me out of here boss." He said weakly, then he gave a small gasp of pain as his eyes rolled back into his head and he passed out.

"**Tony!"** Gibbs gently shook him.

"Let us have him!" A paramedic who had entered the building pulled Tony from Gibbs's arms.

"What's going on!" Gibbs asked his heart pounding in his chest. He had just found Tony, he couldn't lose him now.

"He's going into respiratory arrest! He's not getting enough air!" The paramedic said as he and his partner worked on Tony. They quickly put an oxygen mask on him and hooked him up to an IV. A stretcher was brought in and Tony was put on it and covered in blankets to try and raise his body temperature.

The paramedic reached under the blanket and put his stethoscope over Tony's heart, then listened to his lungs.

"How long was he hanging like that?" The paramedic asked Gibbs.

"The closest we can tell is that he was taken Saturday evening. Why?" Gibbs kept his eyes on Tony.

"His lungs are full of fluid and he has an irregular heartbeat." The paramedic pulled back the blanket a little and began examining the small burn marks on Tony's chest. "What are these? They look like electrical burns."

"They are. The man shocked him … repeatedly. He also has puncture wounds over his back and here." Gibbs said pointing to the wound on Tony's chest caused by the nail board.

"Well the electrical shocks could be the reason for the irregular heartbeat."

"Is it dangerous?" Gibbs said finally looking at the paramedic.

"It could be, but right now I'm more concerned with the condition of his lungs. They also could be putting a lot of stress on his heart. We got to get him to the hospital and on antibiotics as soon as possible. He might need a chest tube to drain the fluid out of his lungs." The paramedic said as he covered Tony back up with the blanket.

Gibbs winced as he looked back down at Tony. He knew a chest tube was extremely painful and he hated the idea of putting his teammate through even more pain. He already had his share to deal with.

Tony started to moan as the oxygen slowly started to bring him around. He lay on the stretcher, his face covered in sweat even though he was freezing. He knew he should be feeling better now that he was free, but he didn't. He could barely breathe and lying down was actually making it worse. He tried to sit up and stated to panic when he couldn't get a good breath of air.

"Easy Tony, easy!" Gibbs said trying to hold him down while the paramedics tended to him.

"Here this will help." The paramedic said to Tony as he injected a liquid into the IV tube.

Gibbs reached over and squeezed Tony's hand as he lay gasping for air on the stretcher looking up at him. Gibbs swallowed hard, Tony looked like a scared little boy hoping his dad could take the pain away. Gradually the pain eased up and his breathing became a little better.

"Okay, let's move him out of here." The paramedic said to his partner. They picked up the stretcher and headed outside with Gibbs still clutching his teammate's hand.

"It's going to be okay Tony, it's going to be just fine." Gibbs kept repeating soothingly.

**Outside**

Kate paced back and forth outside, trying to pull herself together. She still couldn't believe that Tony was dead. She choked back a sob realizing how much she was going to miss him. She didn't know how she could go back to work and look at his empty desk knowing he wasn't coming back. Her heart broke wondering how they were going to tell Abby, McGee and Ducky that their teammate and friend wasn't coming back, that they had failed him. She squeezed her eyes shut _Damn it Tony why did you have to die? Why did you have to leave us?... Why did you have to leave me?_

Kate took a deep breath; she had to pull herself together. She was a professional and she needed to act like on. When she was alone, then she could fall apart. As Gibbs exited the building her eyes fell on the stretcher by his side. _It couldn't be_ she thought as she ran towards Gibbs praying that Tony was the man on the stretcher.

"He's alive Kate …Tony's alive." Gibbs smiled at her as she approached.

"Oh thank God." She shut her eyes briefly, her prayers had been answered. She grabbed hold of the edge of the stretcher staring into Tony's face.

Tony, seeing her tried to raise his other hand but he could only raise it a short distance before it started to fall back to the litter. Kate quickly grabbed his hand and raised it to her face putting her cheek against his hand. He weakly raised his finger and touched her tears.

"Tony, we were so worried about you."

Tony looked at her and tried to smile but it took too much effort, effort he needed just to breathe.

"**We got to move!"** The paramedic said as they pushed past Kate and rushed Tony to the ambulance.

"Kate, bring the car." Gibbs threw the keys to Kate, he would ride with Tony. He knew if Tony didn't make it he had to be there for him, not Kate. It would be hell on him to lose Tony but right now Kate was way too emotional and he didn't want her to possibly witness Tony's death. He was scared he'd lose her too and he wasn't going to lose both of them. He knew he didn't often show it but he **did **think of Tony as a son, and Kate as a daughter. He would never tell them that though. He needed them to have a little fear of him inside. He needed to keep them at a slight distance. It was best for all of them that way.

He looked down at Tony who was once more unconscious as the ambulance sped toward the hospital.

"You stay with us buddy, don't you go leaving us."

Suddenly the paramedic jumped up, stood over Tony, and began pounding on his chest.

"**I've lost his heartbeat!"**

TBC


	13. A Son for a Son Chapter thirteen

Last chapter. Thanks again for all the great feedback. I hope you're not too disappointed with the ending.

**A Son for a Son **

Chapter thirteen

Kate could tell something had gone terribly wrong by all the activity she could see through the back window of the ambulance. She could see Gibbs step back while the paramedics worked on Tony.

"Stay with us Tony…Please, stay with us." She kept repeating over and over. She reached for her cell phone and dialed.

"Hello." Abby's voice came over the receiver.

"Abby, it's Kate. We found Tony."

"Oh that's great Kate! Is he okay?"

Kate hesitated a few seconds.

"I'm not sure Abby, they're taking him to the hospital…He's hurt pretty bad Abby." Her voice caught in her throat as she watched the scene playing out before her through the back window.

"We'll meet you there Kate."

**Hospital**

The paramedics were still working on Tony as he was rushed into the ER. Gibbs followed the stretcher into the building looking completely beaten with Kate following him. She was pale and visibly shaken.

Abby and McGee had arrived a few minutes before and quickly walked over to them. No words were needed as they hugged each other. They all knew their teammate and friend was fighting for his life.

**Two and a half hours later**

The doctor finally came out of the ER to give them a report on Tony's condition. They all stood up, dreading what he might tell them.

"Well, we almost lost him a few times, but we were able to bring him around. He's doing as well as can be expected." The doctor said as he removed his blood splattered gown.

"What are his injuries?" Gibbs asked.

"We're pretty sure he has pneumonia. His one lung was filled with fluid and we had to insert a chest tube to drain it. Right now we're pumping him full of antibiotics and fluids to combat infection and dehydration. He also had a dislocated shoulder which we have reinserted …. We cleaned his wounds and treated his burns. Now it's up to him, we've done all that we can for him….Actually he's very lucky. If you hadn't brought him in when you did it might have been too late to save him. The fluid on his lung would have caused a severe strain on his heart, that plus the shocks he received could have caused his heart to fail."

"Is he conscious?...Can we see him?" Kate asked.

"Well, he was conscious but we had to give him a sedative when we inserted the chest tube, so he's pretty out of it right now. But I can let one of you in for a minute or two, but then we need to get him cleaned up and up to the ICU where they can monitor him."

Kate, Abby and McGee all agreed that Gibbs should be the one to check on Tony, but he turned and looked at Kate.

"Kate, you take this assignment." He gave her a little smile. He knew she needed to see Tony.

She nodded her thanks to him and followed the doctor into the ER. Tony lay naked on the table covered only by a sheet drawn up to his waist. The room spun for a few seconds as she watched them work on him. A large tube ran out of an incision in his side draining a yellow reddish looking liquid from his lungs. She stood back out of the way not sure if he was awake or not, content just to see him alive. One of the nurses noticed her, took her by the hand, and led her over to the litter.

"Tony, there's someone here to see you." The nurse said leaning over the bed looking into Tony's face.

Tony's eye lids fluttered for a moment and then he opened his eyes. It took a few seconds before Kate's face came into focus.

"Kate?" He said weakly, not sure if he was really seeing her or not. The drugs in his system making everything seem unreal and out of focus.

"Yeah Tony, it's me." Her eyes filled up with tears as she put her hand on the side of his face. "I was so worried about you."

"You were worried about me?" He looked up at her, his eyes barely open.

She leaned down and kissed his forehead.

"Yeah Tony, I was worried about you." She smiled, she knew Tony was always trying to get her to say that she cared about him.

He gave her a small smile and slowly shut his eyes, no longer able to fight the sedative.

"Love you…Kate." He said softly before he drifted off.

Kate smiled. She knew Tony was disoriented and had no idea what he was saying. She leaned down close to his ear.

"Love you too Tony." She smoothed his hair back then backed away so they could continue to work on him.

**The next four days**

They took turns sitting by Tony's bedside in the ICU while he fought off fever after fever. Most of the time he remained unconscious, only regaining his senses for a short time before his fever would spike again and he would lapse back into unconsciouness.

Four days later, after massive doses of antibiotics, his fever finally broke. When he opened his eyes, Gibbs was sitting next to his bed, his elbow on the arm of the chair, his head leaning on his hand. Tony looked over at him.

"Hey boss." His voice sounded husky and he tried to clear his throat.

Gibbs jumped slightly as he was startled out of his nap. He looked over at Tony and did something that he hadn't done for days, he smiled.

"Hey, welcome back.. How're you feeling?"

"I feel fine." Tony lied. He felt lousy actually. The last week's events had definitely taken a toll on him. "Could you raise the bed a little?" He winced in pain as he tried to push himself up a little on the bed. Gibbs quickly got up and pressed the button on Tony's bed raising it to a seating position. As he did Tony looked at the dark circles under Gibbs's eyes.

"You look awful Gibbs…Why don't you go home…get some rest."

"I will when Kate gets here…She should be here soon."

It was Kate's turn to sit with Tony and she was running a few minutes late.

"Kate's coming?" Tony said as he combed at his hair with his fingers.

"Yeah, we've been taking turns babysitting you, along with Abby and McGee. We've been waiting for you to wake up and get back to work."

"What day is it?"

"Saturday."

It had been exactly one week since Tony was taken.

"I'll be back on Monday."

"Hey, we're not going to rush it. When the doc says you're ready, then you'll come back."

Tony nodded, too weak to argue with Gibbs.

"Could you get me a little water?" Tony's mouth felt like it had dry cotton in it.

"Sure."

Gibbs poured water into a glass from the pitcher on the table next to Tony. He stuck a straw in it and held it as Tony drank.

"Oh, that tasted good…Thanks." Tony said as he put his head back on the pillow.

Just then Kate walked into the room, her eyes widened when she spotted Tony awake and sitting up.

"Tony!"

"Hi Kate." He flashed her a big smile.

"You're awake!"

"Yep…I figured you guys were worried about me…so I decided it was about time I woke up and got back to work."

"Worried about you?" She glanced at Gibbs and gave him a quick wink. "Actually we didn't know you were missing until Tuesday evening."

"You didn't?" The smiled dropped from Tony's face.

"And then we only noticed because it was your turn to buy Gibbs's coffee." She continued. She smiled inwardly. It was wonderful to be able to kid with him again.

Tony looked at Gibbs.

"Hey, what can I say Tony? The only reason we looked for you at all was because no one wanted to be the one to clean out your gym locker."

"You know…smelly socks and all." Kate cut in.

"Well I'm out of here." Gibbs said walking toward the door. He stopped before he got to it and turned around and looked back at Kate and Tony. He smiled as he turned and walked out the door. His team was whole again.

**Epilogue**

Tony came back to work two weeks later. Dawson's prediction that he had broken Tony's spirit didn't come true. At least outwardly he didn't show any signs of post traumatic stress disorder. Gibbs put him on light duty for two weeks then released him for full duty. Dawson was later convicted of kidnapping and attempted murder and was given a life sentence.

**The End**

R.I.P. Kate, we'll miss you.


End file.
